Honors Fit For a King: Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Culture | January 19th, 2015

Today marks the 15th year Fargo’s Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the birthday and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in the Fargo theater at 6:30 p.m. Overall on a much larger scale, America has been upkeeping King’s spirit since President Reagan signed the holiday into law only 33 years ago. And my oh my, with what occurred in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island New York in 2014, civil rights continues to stand the test of time.

Albeit King’s ethnicity goes without saying. Many cultures and races from various backgrounds have answered the call to what this pioneer advocated for: acting on non-violent means to gather results suitable for the underprivileged, unaccounted for and anyone caught under the belief that “equality is the headline for humanity.” With this event being free and open to the public, folks of all ages will enjoy a cultural melting pot of entertainment that includes the Native American Hand Drum Honor Song, performances by local musicians Treo’ Soul, video presentations and the Fargo Human Relations Award presentations by Deputy Mayor Tim Mahoney.

As we inch closer toward Jan. 20, I’ve noticed quips from local working people opposed to receiving another day off right after the year-end holiday season, let alone for celebrating a citizen to whom was never elected to any government office. But not many know that it was a string of Labor Unions across our country back in 1979 who’ve sought out for a day to have a time of remembrance to signify America’s progression towards racial (and unknowingly at that time), sexual, religious, gender and financial equality.

Up here in North Dakota, the Fargo Human Relations Award will highlight folks who put great effort toward public and human service contributions, stemming from the three categories of youth, adult and organization based criterias. Below here are the well deserving recipients of the 2015 Chamber of Commerce MLK Day awards:

Organization Award goes out to: Growing Together, community gardening group responsible for growing produce and “growing” community..

Adult Award goes out to: Andrea Jang, community outreach coordinator at CHARISM Neighborhood Center.

Student/Youth Award goes out to: Kristina Heggedal, volunteer extraordinaire responsible for helping with Fill the Dome, Youth Summit, The Fargo Youth Initiative, Philanthropy and Youth (PaY), TEDx and TEDxYouth.

These three honorees have gallantly mirrored the efforts Dr. King stood for when King himself took the task of honing-in on leaving the world a better place than where it was at first founded. Christopher Columbus and George Washington are the only two other people who the US celebrate with a national holiday -- not outlasting news, but newsworthy enough to know what a life one must live to have a day chime in because of such efforts.

The entertainment will be in the hands of several great local guest. Musician Treo’ Soul will serenade the event with bountiful sounds of R&B, Jazz and Soul. You can check out their page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Treosoul. The beat goes on throughout the event with a Native American Hand Drum Honor Song that will rise people off their seats. So if your little one only knows Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a means to escape another day of school, then how about shedding light on the great lengths one man took to warrant such an opportunity to get the 3rd Monday off in January. Below are the FYI’s of Monday’s MLK Day celebration details:

IF YOU GO:

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

Monday, Jan 19, 6:30 p.m.

The Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway North

IF YOU GO:

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